Smith and Cardon Reunions

 This year, the Smith reunion was held near Soldier Hollow...right in our backyard.  For me, this meant no tent sleeping.  That's right.  We drove to the reunion each day, and then returned to the comfort of our beds each night.  I genuinely love my extended family.  So many fun memories to relive and relationships to rekindle.

 Playing Farkle with Uncle Kerry.

 Serious Spike-ballers

 Aunt Cherie never disappoints with BINGO.

 Libbie was such a good sister to help the littles keep track of their cards.

 Tyce made lots of cute new cousin friends.

 T-Shirt painting was brought back this year.  The kids absolutely love this tradition.

 Volleyball with Grandpa Golf Ball.  Mad skillzz.

 On the fourth, Jake and Hannah invited us over for hot dogs and fireworks.  Their neighborhood puts on a wild show right in their front yard.  Pretty impressive.

 Here's Jaren working on his Cardon Reunion auction item...lego soap.  Crystal and Rich were in charge of the reunion this year.  They chose Shelbyville, Il as the location which meant a fair bit of time in the car for the Utah people.  We decided to split the drive into two days so we could see some fun sights and make the drive a bit more of an adventure.  Besides Tyce needing to pee every 30 minutes, the drive went off without a hitch.   We rolled into Kansas City, MO just in time for an impressive thunder storm and just in time for bed.  Our morning plans included a stop at Liberty Jail, Far West, and Hannibal, MO.  We were quite disheartened to pull up to the Liberty Jail site and see a paper on the window saying it was closed due to the thunder storm the night before.  Nathan snooped around a bit and caught the attention of some missionaries inside who informed us they were nearly ready to open the doors. Yay!  The tour was great for everyone besides Tyce.  He's in a phase right now in which he's terrified of mascots and apparently wax figures and statues.  He shivered and clung to us all through the presentation due to the Joseph Smith and company statues in the jail.

 Our next stop was at Far West to see the temple corner stones as well as to have a picnic lunch. Nathan found a tick on him and that pretty much made us hurry our lunch along.  The kids loved the hilly road and the dads driving were happy to make our vans feel just like roller coasters.

 Here we are in Mark Twain's hometown Hannibal.  Libbie painting Tom Sawyer's white fence.

 Huck Finn's home.

 Caleb teaching the kids all about old school discipline.

 Enjoying some freedom before heading back to the cars for more driving.

 The mighty Mississippi.

 We made it to Shelbyville.  The accommodations were great for our large group with lots of room to run and play without too much concern for danger and such.  First dinner...walking tacos.

 Our kids were in heaven meeting their newest cousins...Jaren and Emry.

 Nathan and Lincoln.

 The resort had a pool which we had to ourselves a majority of the time.  It was great.

 There was a stocked fishing pond which the kids had such a fun time with.  They were all expert fishermen by the time we left.

 Spikeball is always a favorite.

 The hammocks were a hit.

 Mia loving on Emry.  We've admired her for far too long on Instagram.  Yep, she's just as cute in person.

 Claire with Linclon.  She is a little momma.

 Jaren caught a frog.

 One day we spent a day at the lake.  The kids never tired of the water or the sand.

 Grandma organized a fun relay race for the kids...they weren't the most cooperative.

 The kids were put in charge of dinners this time around.  I'm thankful when they are willing to help out and do so with smiles on their faces.

 Buddies

 Outlaws

 The morning of our departure was soggy to say the least.  We felt so grateful we ended up with pretty awesome weather for the majority of the week.  PS...Boys will be boys. Before heading for home, we trekked to St. Louis to check out the City Museum.  It's built from recycled stuff with lots to slide down and climb on.

 Quite the crew eating lunch.

Thankful for the relationships we share with all these people.  Granted, it would be nice to get together on a more regular basis, but we are grateful for the time we get to be together and the efforts that are made to accommodate such meetings.